Hybrid Awakening
by IQSymphic
Summary: After a failed suicide attempt, Ichigo strikes a bargain with his inner-hollow and undergoes a lengthy and intense training. With his new found growing powers, how much more different will the timeline go for the young Shinigami this time around?
1. Prologue

**Hybrid Awakening**: Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Does anyone even read these things?

* * *

**Important Notes**

"Text" - Regular dialogue

**"Text" - **Solely owned by Ogichi's dialogue

_"Text" _- Thought speech

* * *

"_Not now_..." the orange haired teenager grimly thought as he viewed his own situation.

To many, he was the beacon of light, the small ray of hope, the rare 'wild-card' factor that would be able to eventually change soul society. However, he knew better than anyone that he had somehow survived all of his encounters based on pure luck and stupidity on his own part. He did not know when it would run out, and when and if it did, he would not be able to rely upon this random chance any longer. Still, what could he do to improve his own circumstance, if there was any? He had already made a terrible mess and created a confusion amongst the shinigami city that would take time to reconstruct again. All the others that he knew would be no help since they were not in the predicament that he was stuck with. They were all either a full-blooded human, or a full-blooded shinigami, not like a cross-breed such as himself.

"_...not ever."_

The room was oddly pitch-black; no shadows silently making their presence known, and no hints of any penetration of a light source, just darkness. It appeared as though just the mere aspect of Ichigo's dark mood, and the overhanging aura of his spirit force was pushing back any of the aforementioned items that were trying to make an appearance. The lonely young man shook his head as he tried to recall what it was that the critiques and those alike said to him.

"_Ichigo, this symbolizes that you are a shinigami representative, that means that you are only here as a temporary reserve."_

This person had made sure to hammer home the point that he was not seen as a 'true' shinigami.

"_Eh? A shinigami representative? What's that supposed to be? I never heard of anything like that..."_

This person had denied his existence, and he was just a lowly ranked one to boot!

"_A shinigami representative huh? So, you're basically telling me that you're just a fake?"_

He wasn't one of them in the eyes of all the shinigami, and he certainly wasn't a normal human since he was one of, if not the only person who could switch between his human form and death god form without the use of a gigai. So then what should he be considered? No...better question, what should he consider himself as?

The young oranged haired teenager stared at the open space that was in front of him, and the only thing he could see within the scopes of his own vision was darkness – empty, and blank; just like his future. At that precise moment, Ichigo was pondering the latest events to have befallen on him and his friends, but more so his own personal results. It dawned on him that he was doing a lot of running around and had barely the time to do activities such as the one that was occupying his thoughts now. The latest adventure that he had chosen to embark on was saving soul society from the brink of destruction – yet again. This time around it was not a familiar face like an ex-captain or an entire squad, but rather a soul-draining group that had called themselves the bounto.

It was a close battle between the spiky orange haired protagonist and the leader of the enemy, but of course since the writer of the particular story made Ichigo the main hero, he came out of the scuffle victorious. After this event, he figured that after doing something like saving an entire civilization, not once but twice, would have made people recognize him. Instead the opposite effect happened: he barely got a word of praise from a single being, and was sent back to his home immediately. Of course, he realized that he didn't need such things as he was acting with such bravado because he wanted to. Still, the least they could do to their savior was to at least acknowledge him as one of them, that would've made him feel as though he wasn't doing all this for nothing. He knew that this particular wish would never be fulfilled as Ichigo also knew of the rank differences that separated him from the other captains and those that were revered in soul society.

"_I am as they say a simple ryoka who just so happened to acquire the powers of a death god and have reached the state of bankai in a ridiculously short period of time,"_ Ichigo bitterly thought.

However, the sour taste in his mouth disappeared as quickly as it had emerged. His thoughts were becoming jumbled, completely disarrayed with the mixed emotions that were churning inside of him. His focus was wavering and he was not sure of himself anymore, the confidence that he had built up from his past experience was dissolving by the minute. What was it that he was trying to say? What was forming inside of his head that he wanted to formulate and solidify into a legible thought process?

"**...or are you just running from the truth?"**

"Who's there?" Ichigo shouted as he rose to his feet and surveyed the surrounding area. He thought it would do him good to act the part of what he did not feel. Bluffing in this situation would at least buy him some time before he was ambushed by whoever it was that was trying to get at him. Yes, it was all just a bluff because he knew that there would be no possible way for a live body to be around him within a few walking kilometers or so.

The orange haired teen sighed as he knew that there was no point in denying the fact any longer. He found it trivial and bothersome at first and left it off as he figured that if he kept control of his own realm of influence, then he would have eventually grown stronger and that there would be no need to be worried. That was before it truly hit him: he was weak. He was blind and ignorant of this fact until his eyes were open and shown how weak he truly was. Ichigo realized that without his mirror self, he wouldn't be alive for this round of soul searching.

He really was weak, without the help of his other self he would not be here at this moment. The fight with Kuchiki Byakuya, the battle with that other nameless bounto, and his latest battle with Kariya Jin, the leader of the group. He learned the proper things that his shikai could do when he was fighting the white pale version of himself, and he learned how to use his bankai and the getsuga when the white one took over during his fight with Byakuya. Ichigo knew that he was hopeless, he couldn't do anything by himself.

Many times he would make him disappear by ripping off the mask and then claiming that it was getting in the way. But, that was after the other-self had done all the work for him on weakening the opponent and making them waste the last of their spirit force in surprise. This would be after the pale guy had done the all the critical damage, making them weaker so that he could finish them off. In reality he was afraid of the truth, he was afraid that it was right. It was him, Kurosaki Ichigo, that was getting in the way. He felt like if he got stronger he would be able to defend everyone, help both soul society and the world that he was living in. He felt as though he could carry everyone's burden on his shoulders after he had learned how to do bankai.

However, he was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He would have accomplished nothing without the interference of his alter ego. Interference? No, the more he thought about it, the more he concluded that he was assisting and even guiding him towards the straight path whenever he was doing something wrong. He often wondered what would've happened if it was not for him having such a powerful 'ally' by his side?

Then a frightening thought crept up into his mind, _"Does that mean that...that I didn't defeat Kenpachi with my own strength?" _This forced him to flashback to the moment of his first ever encounter with the terrifying, beastly strength of a captain and how he was almost defeated, and killed. But, he was somehow able 'awaken' a power inside of him that allowed the old man to accept him once again. This gave him a newly found confidence which allowed him to beat and survive against all odds.

"_I remember old man Zangetsu claiming that I was working with my zanpakutou in making me get stronger, but in reality it was only him lending me his strength."_

Ichigo continued to sit in his usual position, letting all of this information sink into his mind. The room was empty and silent. There was nothing could be seen or heard except for the quiet heartbeat and pulse that came from the only individual within the room. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that he would eventually be useless and worthless, and at that moment he would be able to save anyone, not even himself. He knew that the longer the existence of his composite form was around, than the more that people would rely and take advantage of his powers. And if that vicious cycle continued to occur then it would only be a matter of time before he collapsed, disappointing everyone that depended upon him. When that moment came, reality wouldn't be careful on him, he knew that he would land with something far worse than a few scratches.

To him, there was only one possible solution.

"_I've lived a short life, but if it wasn't Rukia to help me back there then I would've been killed by that hollow a long time ago." _

Ichigo's hand, arm, legs, and his entire body shook as he thought about what he was going to do to himself. He did not want to go through with this, the very thought of ending his own life scared him. But of course it did, despite everything that he went through and had miraculously survived, people still have to keep in perspective that he was still a young teen that wasn't even eligible to enter college. Yet here he was saving the world and also trying to determine if his own life was worth keeping. He had spared the lives of his enemies and had also given length to those that he rescued, but here...with his own two hands...

The young protagonist tried to re-think any other routes that would allow him to continue this ambiguous path. But with his mental capacity in a state of flux and turmoil, he was not capable of elevating his thoughts to a higher level. Perhaps he did not want to, there might have been something, anything he could've done but he had already resigned himself to this fate. It was something that he was able to avoid until this point, but ironically, it looked as though death was going to stare at him in the face by the one force he did not account for – himself.

A notice of hestitation and fear struck his nerve as he was second guessing his own choice.

"_No, this is for the best,"_ the shinigami representative thought to himself as he nervously brought his hand near his zanpakutou. He was shaking and sweating profusely hard, but Ichigo knew that if he didn't do this now then it was only a matter of time...a matter of time before everything unraveled before his eyes with him being powerless to stop it.

With the thought firmly planted in his brain the resolution was made complete, he would go through with the suicide and nobody was around to stop him. He would eliminate his human form and join the shinigami's and watch over those that he could from soul society. Ichigo had consciously chosen this dark, empty room to commit this atrocious act since he did not want any of his friends or relatives to find his body for a while. Also, for some unexplained reason, this broken-down bunker was somehow able to conceal conceal a large portion of his spirit force. Only if someone were to concentrate seeking his energy would they be able to detect a small hint of it, just a tiny amount. This was under the assumption that the individual was able to feel the emitted presence in the first place.

"_It's now or never," _Ichigo thought as he gripped the hilt of his sword before inhaling and exhaling a few times. This allowed him to finally relax as his determination was slowly coming back to him. He slowly raised the blade up to the air and had pointed it to himself as he looked up at the ceiling of the building.

"_I guess this is good-bye Yuzu, Karin, father, Inoue, Chad, Ishida," _he listed as he struggled to recall any other humans that he might've missed. It didn't matter to him now, he would apologize to the rest of them in the afterlife, but for now he would have to follow what he thought was right. This was for the best.

His final breath, a deep plunge.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"**...didn't I tell you that it would be troublesome for me if you were to die?"**

Or at least that was the plan. Ichigo knew that something was wrong, he could feel the dimensions of the atmosphere almost freely, as though he was disconnected from the world. It wasn't the feeling of liberation from death, as he knew the gaps between his heart was informing him that he was still the incomplete half-shinigami. Just to be sure that he wasn't in suspended animation, the protagonist slowly opened his eyes only to confirm his own suspicions.

"Huh?" the orange haired teen snapped out of the pseudo-trance as an unknown factor had forced him to drop his sword, effectively ending any attempt at his own life again. He was floating, listlessly and without purpose; his body tethering between the corporeal and the imagination. He was nowhere, and yet he was not dead. The befuddlement that surrounded him quickly cleared when he saw who it was that was intruding upon his suicidal efforts.

"**I always did say that you sucked, didn't I, Ichigo? You giving up further proves my point."**

"You!" Ichigo angrily yelled as he swiped at the empty air in frustration, "Why did you stop me? Did you not understand my resolution?"

He heard a small snicker from the other side as the hollow version of himself stepped up to reveal himself. The colorless Ichigo had on his usual raiment along with the arrogant grin plastered on his face that gave off the aura of accomplished confidence. He was not armed with a weapon but he still did carry a sharp set of words that always managed to sting the orange haired teen.

"**Hah! Resolution? You call that bullshit resolution? Who the fuck are you trying to fool here? Besides, even though I hate you, you're still king of this place and if you die then I disappear with you."**

"Shut up!" Ichigo screamed, he was not in the mood to handle his hollow twin's dealings, "You...it's you're damn fault that I'm doing this in the first place. If you hadn't ever interfered with my business then I would've-"

"**I dare you to finish that sentence," **the achromatic one said as he curtly interrupted his host. He had enough of this human's complaints, if he heard anymore then he knew he was going to do something he was going to was an awkward moment of silence before it was broken by his other self.

"**Ah ha ha," **the hollow Ichigo cackled, "**I can't believe I even continued to help a weakling like you."**

"Well, why did you?" Ichigo softly asked, his tone finally starting to mellow, "Why didn't you just let me die during those moments? What was in it for you to keep saving my skin?"

"**Didn't I already tell you? I was simply doing it for myself! As long as your alive then-"**

"Wait...that's not all there is to it right? I mean there has to be more of a reason then that," Ichigo cautiously asked as he finally started to grasp his own senses. He had the impression that there was another ulterior motive to the hollow's selfish behavior, that his words hid something that went beyond the spectrum of anyone's comprehension. The shinigami representative was not going to allow him to escape without answering his question, not this time. He knew he was going to have to pry the information out of him. It was going to be a long battle.

"**Yeah there is, so what?"**

"S-so what?" Ichigo slightly stuttered as he was stumbling for the right things to say. Would it be this easy to crack the white guy open? He was apprehending a long witty battle that was surely to come, but instead a single sentence affirmed his belief.

"What is it you bastard? Tell me right now or else I'll...I'll..."

"**You're going to what?" **the voice asked in a taunting manner, "**Going to kill yourself? I've already stopped you from doing it once, and if you try again then this time I'm not going to wait until the last minute to control some parts of you...Ichigo!"**

The orange haired teenager gritted his teeth in frustration, "Why are you coming out now? I don't understand, why are you bothering me now? Why? And since when were you a part of me? How can you control me? How?"

How, why, his vocabulary was becoming limited and cluttered, he was starting to repeat himself, but it didn't matter since there was nobody here except himself and he knew that he would say these things.

"**You want me to answer all these inquiries for you?" **the ghastly figured one asked, half expecting the obvious answer.** "****I would explain it to you, but with a skull as dense and thick as yours I think it would be better if I showed it to you."**

"What are you talking abou-"

Before he had a chance to finish the sentence he saw small blots forming around his field of vision before the environment around him started to blur before everything became distorted afterward. Ichigo had lost his consciousness, his body lazily slumped to the cold, metal floor of the dark pitched room.

...

"Huh?"

Ichigo opened his eyes and tested his bodily functions to make sure of its proper usage. He then began dreaming of wild impractical theories that would never come true on the basis of the ever-challenging rules of real-world physics. Afterward, he pinched himself on the cheek before finally confirming that yes indeed he was still alive.

But where was he?

Last he checked he was in a drab, desolate area in which he had formerly marked as his graveyard but now he saw the open skies long with a few clouds hanging over him. It took the teenager a moment's notice before he realized that he was drawn back into his own mindscape again, the place where he first fought his white counterpart and had the old man's trust and the zanpakutou back. Though, there was a huge difference as unless his memory was failing him, he remembered the place being more cheerful, more bright. Ichigo could've sworn that the skies were lightly blue with the clouds being white and fluffy as a sheep's fleece. However, what he saw totally contradicted this recollection; the skies were a lot darker and the clouds appeared to be heavy, as though it might rain at any second.

"Was I wrong, or is this a completely different place?"

Ichigo looked at the floor and saw the same black tile that he usually stood upon whenever he was transported to this place. This befuddled him for a short order as he wasn't sure what the deal with the place was...but above all else, if this was still the same place then where was old man Zangetsu?

"**Heh,"** a voice loudly rang through this edge of the universe, **"It looks like you finally woke up, and it's about time to."**

The shinigami representative froze for a tick as the tile underneath him slowly drifted him away from the initial grounds. It traveled at a consistently moderate rate and appeared to go nowhere, when it abruptly jerked itself to an odd 58 degree counterclockwise, then dropped its altitude and made a halt for him to come face to face with the voice that had just previously taunted him. Yes, there he was, his pale mirror-self that Ichigo remembered battling and barely defeating just so he could receive the 'blessing' to be granted his sword back again.

That still didn't disguise the fact that the one person who had guided him through some of his turbulent times was missing.

"**I bet you have lots of questions, right Ichigo?" **the hollow-look alike asked his host. **"Like for example, why does this place look so familiar yet different? What am I doing here? Where is-"**

"Oy," the orange haired teen finally said as he rudely interrupted his crazier alter-ego, "This shitty attitude of yours is starting to piss me off. Why don't you just shut up and tell me already instead of wasting my time?"

"**Heh," **the usual grin was plastered on the pale one's face as he gave Ichigo a curious stare, **"For someone in your position, you sure have lots of balls to demand anything from me!"**

The white-colored Ichigo sat down and looked at his tinctured self in amusement. It only took a tenth of a minute for the two to begin to stare each other down until the black-clothed shinigami had his patience run thin. He scurried over to his pale mirror self and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began to yell,

"Well? What are we supposed to be doing right now? Am I supposed to go through another test?" Ichigo demanded to know. "And above everything else, who or what the hell are you?"

The pale one calmly shook his head before backhanding the impatient host's hands away from his raiment, **"Didn't anyone teach you any manners, Ichigo?"**

Rubbing his neck in an exaggerating manner, the clone took his precious time as he yawned before continuing, **"You were quite rough with me there eh? I don't know if I can afford to do shit anymore since my neck suddenly feels so fuckin' stiff."**

Ichigo blanched in disgust as he realized that he really was in no position to conduct himself in such degree towards the only other being that was present before him. Even though it was going to be a frustratingly impossible task, he was going to have to swallow his ego and pride and make nice-nice with him.

"**That's right, Ichigo, grovel before my knees and beg for forgiveness! Then maybe I'll be willing to do something for you, Ichigo!"**

Closing his eyes, the orange haired teen gritted his teeth and clenched his fists together before finally surrendering himself to a submissive position that his hollow mirror wanted to see. Getting down on one knee, then the other, Ichigo inhaled and exhaled a large amount of oxygen to calm his nerves for the upcoming painful activity.

"**Go on, I'm waiting."**

"..."

"**Speak louder! I can't hear you!"**

"..."

"**If your gonna waste my time then fuck y-"**

"LIKE I'M EVER GOING TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?" Ichigo emphatically yelled as he managed to connect his fist with the bold font speaker's chin. It was a swift rising uppercut that had the twinge of surprise mixed in it that allowed this move to be successful in the first place.

"I'll die before I do anything like th-"

This time the shinigami representative received a hard knee to his face as he found himself unwillingly rolling on the ground. Retaliation was a must. Ichigo had to demonstrate his moxie and determination, and that wasn't going to be shown through words, Of course, that was his initial thought, however, what followed could hardly be considered anything but – the two traded body blows and insults before they settled down again.

"**Now, let's get back to the original topic."**

Ichigo nodded in agreement.

The pale one shrugged as he swiped a smudge of flake from his uniform before speaking further, **"Like I tell all those that I appear before, it doesn't matter who I am does it? But I know that you'll keep bitching at me if I leave it at that, so, I'll just say that I'm Zangetsu!"**

The non-pale one immediately shook his head in disbelief, "You might believe me to be stupid, but I'm not that dense to even give that possibility a consideration."

"**Ah ha ha ha ha!" **the hollow mirrored persona cackled, **"I really don't give a shit whether you believe me or not, Ichigo, do you understand that? Right now, all that matters is that I'm finally given a chance to become king, and you won't be able to stop me this time!"**

"King..." Ichigo mumbled to himself as he caught one of the phrases that piqued his interest.

"You keep using that word, king."

"**So?" **the achromatic character asked in an indifferent tone. It was clear to the orange haired teen that this subject was worth chasing, that this was the main point that he wanted to get to. He had to acquire more information so that he would be able to comprehend the situation a little better. At least grab some of the reins instead of allowing his other self to have total, running control.

"Well, why do you keep repeating that word? It's obvious to me that you want to tell me something about this. So then tell me, what's so important about being king? What happens if you were to become it? What is it anyway?"

"**Heh," **the hollow parasite crossed his arms, **"I suppose you can't figure everything out yourself since your trapped in your limited scope of dimensions and reality."**

It took Ichigo a few minutes to process the implications, no, some crucial piece of information that he was being intentionally fed. Were there other types of...realities like he was suggesting, or was the humanoid hollow just messed with his mind? Since this was the first, and longest time that they were interacting without trying to murder each other, he did not know any of his mirror self's habits or signs. So he had to go by his instincts, which was to trust him with some discretion from his part.

"**Ichigo! The place that you're in now, the tile that you're standing on, and the ground that you ate while receiving my punishment, all of it is the same place as before! However, the landscape alters according to your emotions, and last time it was chaos and anger that was filling your heart, right?"**

This wasn't what the shinigami representative wanted to hear, but, he figured that everything would eventually get resolved, sooner or later. Though he would've preferred the previous rather than the latter.

A wide grin occupied the pale person's face as he showed his right palm to the host before slamming it on the ground. He then propelled his body, with his toes pointing to the sky, and with relative quickness he spun his legs around at a 180 degree circular motion, hitting the stunned Ichigo.

"Wh-what the hell was that for? One minute your talking about some landscape or whatever, then the next you hit me with some circus show! What the hell are you-"

"**Ah, I'm getting bored just talking all day to you. Ichigo! Try to entertain me for a while and don't suck too much alright?"**

The speaker shook his head and spat in disgust as he knew that his counterpart would be hesitant to try anything on him. He could only imagine how badly his host's confidence was shattered, still he knew that if there was one thing that Ichigo would not refuse, that would be a fight, or at least a good butt kicking.

"**Here, you can borrow my sword for a while," **the humanoid hollow said as he tossed a rusty-looking sword at the orange haired teen's feet. **"It's not the zanpakutou, but it should do!"**

Ichigo took a look at the sword, it definitely wasn't the weapon that he was used to wielding while he was in his shinigami form, but there was something about it that resonated with him. It was faint and weak, but he knew that he could handle it to a certain degree, or at least be competent during this duel.

"No tricks?"

"**None."**

The shinigami representative touched the blade of the sword and ran his index finger down the edge. It didn't cut him. The appearance of the weapon was rough but it felt smooth to the touch. Ichigo was unsure if he should go near the hilt, would it be cheating if he worked with another sword? He didn't see or feel Zangetsu anywhere, and the only thing he saw was what was in front of him.

Taking a deep breath, the orange haired teen finally grasped the slightly rusted weapon and held it in front of him. The apprehension and anxiety previous to the introduction of the armament had dissipated and replaced was a sense of comfort and composure. The only time Ichigo ever felt this way was when he was collaborating with his zanpakutou in defeating the enemies in front of him.

"**About time," **the bold font speaker said, **"Your always so fuckin' dramatic with everything you do. At the time it took you to show off all that bullshit, I could've charged my spirit power and then used it at the start of the battle...like this!"**

Pointing his index and middle finger at Ichigo, the achromatic person cackled as a condensed beam of spiritual energy shot straight out. Having no humanly time to think, the shinigami instinctively raised the sword to block the incoming blast. Luckily for him, the weapon was sturdy enough to ricochet the projectile away from him and onto a dead spot.

"Wh-what the hell? I wasn't ready for-"

"**Hah! You think I care?" **the white shinigami immediately replied, **"The way that your dimension has some sort of silent 'gentlemen agreement' pisses me off."**

Ichigo caught it again, the hollow's use of dimension and him indirectly comparing it to others. Was he bluffing, trying to agitate him? What was the guy's purpose? Again, he didn't have time to ponder as felt his opponent gather some spiritual force at a rapid pace.

"**Even though I said no tricks, I'm still going to be fighting you with everything but a weapon. You'll probably still suck with this handicap, Ichigo!"**

The colored shinigami prepared his usual fighting stance and waited for the hollow to attack.

"**Heh, always remember that the person with the initiative always has the advantage," **the hollow elevated his right foot a few inches above the ground and tapped his left heel then proceeded to do the same with the other. Then in a blink of an eye he reappeared from Ichigo's right side and punched him square in the face.

"Mmph!" the orange haired teen quickly gathered himself as he wiped his own spit from his mouth. Again the hollow flashed in, but to his left side, and aimed for his face, but Ichigo was prepared this time and blocked it off with the sword and tried to retaliate. His swipe came up empty.

"**Hah!" **the pale one said as he kicked his host's butt from behind. **"Too slow...ah!"**

This time Ichigo managed to connect his elbow with the hollow's stomach as he spun around and slashed him with the sword. He never felt any solid impact from the blade. Instead, what followed was his inability to pull his weapon back, it was as though he had mistakenly drowned the blade into wet cement and was now paying for his stupidity.

"What?" Ichigo managed to say as he turned his face to have a fist greet him. It was mostly a one-sided affair with the achromatic shinigami biding his time and doing most of the 'delivering'. After getting pummeled for a few more rounds, the orange haired teen was finally spent and was lying down, staring straight up at the sky. Just a few hours ago, he was bent on ending his own life, but now here he was...doing some odd activity with his white mirror clone. What the purpose of this interaction was he did not know, however, he did know that the hollow was stalling on purpose. He wanted to know what it was that he was here for, other than to halt his suicide attempt.

"Hey," Ichigo said as he wanted to prod the guy for some answers.

No answer.

"Hey," he repeated waiting for some kind of acknowledgment.

None.

"H-hey, are you ignoring me now?" Ichigo asked as he finally looked at the person that was floating around near him

"**Ask me. I know your dying to know right, Ichigo?"**

"Well...no...I mean..."

"**Your starting to sound a lot like a certain female pupil-less individual that I've been hearing about. Shut up and man up you goddamned idiot. If you want something, then come and get it."**

That could only mean one thing, he had to force it out of him.

"**Ah ha ha ha! Ichigo, I'll tell you right now that if we were to fight ten matches, I would win all eleven of them!"**

"Eleven?"

"**Hrmph, you flesh walkers have no concept of outside thinking. You better change that way about yourself, and fast...anyways, you know how ten is normally considered the highest possible range in a scale of grades right?"**

Nod of head, confirmation.

"**Well, the beating is going to be so intense that it'll go over the meter, go it?"**

He thought about this for a second, there was something a little...off about what he was just told. The tone that he delivered it wasn't his usual sarcastic or bored type, and this information wasn't of any particular interest or assistance. Then it hit him on the side of the head; metaphorically speaking of course. Ichigo groaned as he realized that he had just witnessed one of this guy's rare jokes, and it was painfully bad.

"...or you could just leave ten as the highest and still have your point come across as being brutal."

The hollow sighed in exasperation as he shook his head, **"Sometimes I wonder how I got stuck with the role of the horse to your stupidity, goddamnit."**

The black robed shinigami scratched his head as he was gathering an argument from the bits and pieces that the pale one was tossing to him. There were some important key notes that was constantly being repeated and he knew he really would be an idiot to miss these hints. Ichigo knew that he was close to the finish line, but he was missing an important link.

"Wait...can I ask you something?"

Shrug. Noncommittal.

"I'm still king right? I mean I can feel it...I can't explain it but I know that I still am."

Still no response.

"I have a favor to ask you."

Ichigo found that he had caught the other's attention, even though he was not showing it.

"I...I want to get stronger, and when I say that, I don't mean some bullshit experimental training that those others have made me go through. I want actual strength so that I don't have to rely upon my unpredictable spikes and adrenaline."

"**Hah!" **the one claiming to be Zangetsu finally responded, **"Why the hell should I do that for you? What's in it for me?"**

"Well, I'm still king of this place right? And as such, I'm going to use my authority and command you to train me."

"**You're right," **the hollow said as he stared at Ichigo with a deadpanned face, **"But it doesn't mean that I'm going to comply. Why the hell shouldn't I just kill you right now and take over as king? Become the host instead of the guest?"**

The orange haired teen's next step was going to be the important one. He was going to have to execute his argument and deal correctly or else the whole thing would come crashing down in his face. This was a once in a lifetime chance and if he blew it, he didn't know what would happen in the future. Or even the moment afterward.

"Then what about this? Let's strike a deal then: Teach me everything you know. Let me acquire all your knowledge and all of your skills, let me have what you have. Let me know what you know and everything else that you can throw at me."

The achromatic shinigami started to walk away as he clearly was starting to lose interest in this. He knew that realistically there was nothing in it for the other end and he would be the only one really receiving anything in return. To be fair though there was no give and take here, just give, no take. Ichigo didn't want to do this but he had no choice, he needed to get stronger.

"Let's share," the protagonist finally shouted out. He knew that he had the humanoid hollow's interest as he had him stop dead in his track. That was the one and only thing he could offer to him. He knew that unless he accepted the changes, it would be an impossibility for him to have his body taken over by the hollow. The probability was less than the ideal 1% that many gamblers shoot for when trying to beat a casino. In this way he would take a shortcut towards getting stronger, however, he was also dancing with the devil in doing so.

This was a double-edged wager that he was going to have to bet his life on, and he was going to go forward with it.

"How about, instead of trying to 'dethrone' me like you keep sarcastically muttering to me about, why not we share this body huh? Sort of like a...fifty-fifty compromise, no horse and king position here."

"**You mean like partners?" **he heard the hollow ask in a cautious tone.

"Yeah...something like that."

The pale, white mirror clone scratched his chin for a second and then laughed, **"Hah! For once I'm going to have to give you credit, Ichigo! I'll take you up on this, but just remember one thing, now that you've allowed me entrance into your subconsciousness you better be careful. This time, I really can take over not only your body but also your mind as well. At least until the person standing in front of me becomes just but a distant memory."**

"Yeah yeah, just shut up and teach me something already."

The hollow cracked his neck and stretched his arms and legs before sitting down, **"Let me tell you something before we start."**

Right before Ichigo's eyes, a gigantic manuscript had somehow appeared in front of his face. Did it fall from the sky? Did it magically actualize, breaking the laws of physics? Now that he thought about it, he didn't think that this place was abiding with the same rules as his reality.

"**I don't think you'll be able to comprehend any of this if I were to give it to you, so I think I'll just summarize it for you."**

"**First of all, when we start this training, we will be staying in here until you get everything down, got it?"**

"Okay," Ichigo said as he shrugged, "What's the big deal about that? Wait...what about school? Family? My life outside of this place? My human life?"

"**That's one of the conditions; if you accept then I'm not releasing you from this place until I've pounded everything into your memory."**

"How long would that take? A few hours? Days...weeks?"

"**Try a few years."**

The look on Ichigo's face could only be described with one word: Priceless. He didn't want to reveal this as it would ruin the moment, but the hollow had to relay the rest of the information out to his host. Plus he knew that the expression would be forever grained into his own mind.

"**Calm down, the concept of 'time' in this realm is...shall I say interlocked between availability and existence. Yeah, what you pathetic humans don't realize is that time is only essential to the mind and that once you acknowledge it as a set standard, you will forever be stuck in a dull paradigm."**

"...huh?"

"**Basically, time here travels relatively quickly compared to the outside world, or should I say that it doesn't move at all. There are no seconds, or minutes, or anything like that here. It's just all one big void that you've somehow created with your subconsciousness."**

The speaker looked at his student and asked, **"Still don't believe me? How much 'time' do you think passed between when you committed suicide and now?"**

"Uh...I'm guessing a few hours?"

"**If we go by your time, try five minutes."**

"**There are more rules that will be posed as we go along with this training, but there is one thing that you should realize," **the pale one said as he figured that the orange haired teenager had decided upon committing to the program.

"**All of this can be seen as 'theory', no matter how many times we perform certain moves here, it will only be completed once you actually perfect it with your physical body."**

"Why is that?"

"**You know what, I'll let you figure that one out yourself, I'm tired of talking. Oh, and one more thing that I'm going to warn you about, after you've waken up, I'm going to be putting limitations upon you, alright?"**

"Why is that?"

The hollow stared at the questioner with a 'are you serious' kind of look and sighed, **"You'll find out once you wake up. For now, let's start!"**

"Wait! I have just one important question," Ichigo shouted as he bought his temporary instructor's action to a halt. "What's your name?"

Ichigo stopped and questioningly faced his temporary instructor and asked, "Hey, what's your name?"

"**I thought I told you already, I'm-"**

"A name. Give me a solid name to go by."

"**Call me...Ogichi."**

**

* * *

Author's Note: **Yes! This is the rewritten version of my Bleach fanfic! Although some of the actions are the same, a lot has changed and even the requests and the deals that are struck is different from the previous one. I'm aiming for a different feel and path for this fanfic and hopefully once I'm done going through all the rewrites it'll be even _better _than the previous version. Here's crossing my fingers that I don't get lazy!**  
**


	2. Act I Scene I

**Act I/Scene I**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters involved with the works of Bleach and blah blah blah, I'm only doing this for the pure purpose of entertainment.

**Important Notes**

There has been slight changes to what the quotations and such are being used for this one.

"Text" - Indicates dialogue for those on Earth

**"Text**" - Indicates dialogue for those that reside in the mindscape

_"Text" _- Indicates the usage of a thought process

* * *

Two people staring off into the empty horizon - barren of life and void of any meaningful color. Nothing in the offset to ponder as the dimensions stretched toward the boundless limits of the infinite. So then, the question begs, what could these that were of similar variety be entrenched in that they would be fixated in a trance-like state?

A sigh escapes the one infused with color. This doesn't escape the notice of the achromatic figure, however, given the atmosphere of the moment, he figured that it was hardly the correct time for such inappropriate behavior. At least, that would've been the thought of those that had a sane and conscious process.

"**Ichigo, the hell are you sighing for, huh?"**

The aforementioned subject did not respond initially as he was still mulling over his actions and the future that was laid out for him. He understood that this would be the starting point of his new life, and that this would be where he would prove his doubters and also that of his critics wrong. A poke and then a kick came at his direction as it sent the unguarded orange-haired teenager flying to the other side of the 'box', or at least that was the supposed length.

Propping his upper-body and balancing it carefully, Ichigo mumbled something inaudible under his breath as he shook his head. He knew that with Ogihci around, there would be no time for brooding or even self-pity. As the Shinigami representative was told repeatedly told throughout the training course, strength was one of the only true ways to demonstrate a person's dedication and those of the individual's own resolve.

Slightly grimacing, he then grumbled in a loud manner as he scrambled back up to his feet before stretching around while staring at the white-hollow version of himself. It only seemed like yesterday this being was a completely stranger that only wanted to take over his body as the role of a parasite host. Now, he couldn't imagine life, at least the Shinigami part, without Ogihci being part of it. Grinning, he walked over to where the said figure was as he waved at his location as he shouted,

"Oy! Ogihci!" Trotting over to where his mindscape 'tutor' was standing, he asked in a half-joking tone, "So, any last minute words, advice, or training for me before I leave this place?"

Oddly, for one of the first times since Ichigo had known him, he was strangely quiet. It troubled him for a bit to see the humanoid hollow act in a sullen and somber. Beginning to feel unnerved by the strange nature of the entire event, the orange-haired teen attempted to lighten the mood but utterly failed as one deathly stare by his other-self made him stop. The Shinigami representative stood still for a while, waiting for something, anything to happen, would this be how the two part ways? However, his question became answered as the other person finally began to speak again.

"**Ichigo,****" **the achromatic one cleared his voice, **"****I ****have ****to ****go ****over ****a ****few ****things ****with ****you ****before ****you ****depart ****for ****your ****dimension. ****So ****sit ****your ****ass ****down ****and ****open ****your ****ears...because ****once ****I****'****m ****finished ****talking ****through ****this, ****it****'****ll ****be ****time ****for ****you ****to ****evaporate ****and ****I****'****m ****going ****on ****a ****small ****trip ****for ****myself."****  
**

The orange-haired teenager knew better than to hit him back with a sharp remark, so he promptly did as he was ordered.

"**Everything that I've taught you and have drilled into your consciousness were all done under theoretical training. What this means is that even if you know the basics and all the rules and fundamentals behind it, your physical body won't know it. I'm telling you this now because some of the more advanced units that we covered aren't exactly configured for your dimension." **

The hollow figure held out a hand as he shook his head, **"****Of ****course, ****with ****all ****of ****the ****preparation ****and ****work ****that ****I ****forced ****you ****to ****undergo, ****you ****should ****be ****able ****to ****grasp ****it ****after ****attempting ****them ****a ****few ****times. ****I ****just ****didn****'****t ****tell ****you ****this ****since ****I d****idn****'****t ****want ****you ****to ****worry ****during ****the ****training.****"**

Getting his original smirk back on his face, Ogihci then asked his counterpart, **"****Ha ha, ****Ichigo! ****Do ****you ****remember ****how ****your ****original ****blade ****looks ****like? ****Not ****that ****fat, ****humongous, ****half-black ****sword ****that ****you ****lugged ****around ****for ****most ****of ****your ****Shinigami ****life. ****I ****meant, ****when ****you ****first ****got ****it ****from ****the ****female ****Kuchiki.****"**

It took the orange-haired teenager a few minutes, but after skimming through his memory bank, he nodded as he responded, "Yeah, it was a white broadsword that had a huge blade attached to it...I remember that it was the first appearance of my powers and since I didn't know or understand how to contain my reiatsu correctly, that was the form that it came out in..."

To some people, this mental exercise of describing a precise piece of the past while analyzing and diagnosing the problem would be surprising. However, Ogihci made sure that to not only sharpen the teenager's blade, but his mind as well. To the hollow, it was important that the king properly represents him not only through the showing of his brawn, but his brains as well.

"**Well the next one I'm about to tell you ties in with your correct assessment. When you arrive back into your physical state, you will be prohibited from using the zanpakutou. Not only that but it will also be wrapped back in its cloth-wrap tang and back to the shape previous to that of the shikai. Until the weapon limit has been lifted, you will be banned from even attempting to use that big blade." **

Sitting down on the ground, the hollow allowed Ichigo to absorb all of the information that he had been given. After two minutes, he continued again, **"****Also, ****one ****last ****thing ****before ****you ****leave...sometimes, ****struggles ****are ****exactly ****what ****we ****need ****in ****our ****life. ****If ****we ****were ****to ****go ****through ****our ****life ****without ****any ****obstacles, ****we ****would ****be ****crippled. ****We ****would ****not ****be ****as ****strong ****as ****what ****we ****could ****have ****been. ****Give ****every ****opportunity ****a ****chance, ****leave ****no ****room ****for ****regrets.****"**

Completely taken by surprise by the last few sentences that were spoken to him, the Shinigami opened his eyes and tried to say something back to the hollow, but found himself already fading away. The last thing he saw and heard finally from his temporary teacher was the signature grin followed by,

"**Ichigo, don't suck! Ah ha ha ha!"**

* * *

"...hrk mmph bleck!"

Going through a few violent coughs, the awakened orange-haired teenager finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the dark ceiling of what he presumed to be the building that he was resting inside of. Slowly gathering his wits and strength, Ichigo accumulated enough from himself as he held the ground with his arms while raising his upper body. He then noticed the odd fitting garments that he was wearing: an overly loose white robe, and judging from the lack of a draft from underneath it he figured that he was also wearing a pair of boxer shorts. Coughing a few more times, the young male then placed a hand on his chest as he inhaled a few times before letting himself settle.

"...I feel heavy."

After the initial battle of waking up back in his own reality, the first sensation that Ichigo had to comment on was that of his own weight. He felt heavy, sluggish, almost out-of-sync with his own body, and to top it off he still felt groggy and unfocused. It wasn't the most ideal situation for him to wake up to, but he figured that there was a price to pay for being comatose for so long. Groaning lightly, he then started to get to his feet when he felt a presence nearby. Quickly attempting to get into a battle-ready stance, the orange haired teenager scrambled around only to get himself slamming down onto the ground with his frantic-like pace.

"Oh? It seems like you are finally awake Ichigo..."

The aforementioned Shinigami instantly recognized the tone of the voice as his body began to calm itself down. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Ichigo rolled around on the floor until he was flat down on his back as he blinked a few times. So, he was with the shopkeeper, Kisuke, and if his assumption was correct, then he was at the small hut that the man owned. However, this reprieve was short-lived when he recalled the sort of person that the messy blonde-haired man was. If he was here, then it was certain that not only he, but Yoruichi had suspected something of him. Though, with him being under such scrutiny and high maintenance spells directly told him that they only suspected, but had no clue as to what it was.

Ichigo knew he could use this, he would have to force himself to play dumb. Huffing lightly, the orange-haired teenager yawned as he placed his right hand on his left shoulder and rotated it slowly. Mirroring the same activity on the other side, he then whisked his body upright once again as he felt his center of balance rapidly shift.

"My, my, the ever so growing young folks these days...showing no patience or concern for their own welfare."

Groaning, the Shinigami representative responded in his usual causal tone, "Help me get up so I can get back home, everyone must be worried about me."

Easily pushing the weakened teenager back with his cane, the Urahara shop owner shook his head as he made small 'tsking' sounds, "Now now Kurosaki-san, no need to be hasty as you just woke up from a rather long nap. Why don't you take it easy for a bit?"

Of course, his words has almost no effect upon Ichigo as he stumbled back onto his feet, using his own knees as a source of a balancing pivot. As he started to regain his footing, he asked in a slightly more demanding tone, "So, where am I and how long have I been out? Also, what's been going on so far after Aizen and..."

Another round of violent coughs escaped from Ichigo's mouth as he fell to the floor once again. Sighing at this sight, Kisuke tipped his striped bucket hat forward as he answered in lighthearted voice,

"Well, if you haven't guessed by now, you are at the small candy store of the Urahara shop. I, along with the lovely Yoruichi, have been watching over you. Of course, your friends came over to check up on you as well, especially that Orihime girl."

The young male disregarded most of the information once his initial suspicions were proven correct. Drowning out the speaker for a second, he tried his best to further analyze the situation. There was something that he was probably overlooking and Ichigo knew that if he didn't grasp it then his disadvantage would only grow deeper. Yes, this wasn't the enemy, but he still had to try and get used to exercising this particular skill set. However, his thought process was interrupted when the Urahara shop owner continued answer the orange-haired teenager's questions.

"You've also been in the comatose-like state for just about half a year now...or five months,13 days, 39 minutes and 26 seconds to be exact, but who's counting?"

Ichigo and Kisuke each took breaths simultaneously.

"I suppose I can update you on the current situation...but you have to promise me something Kurosaki."

Hearing his family name being used to acknowledge his presence usually meant, at least to him, that the following sentence would be that of a serious one. He knew that with the messy blonde-haired shopkeeper, this man was no different and his demeanor even changed to fit the moment. Lightly shrugging, he rubbed the back of his head as he grumbled inaudibly to himself before nodding and agreeing to the blind acceptance that he would be forced to make. The Shinigami representative at least understood that if he did not confirm it with the positive, then the man would simply halt. Instead of risking it for inane purposes, he chose the safer option.

"Well, according to the data that has been given to me by the other Shinigami's that were stationed around this little town, there has been an increase in the appearance of Arrancars. Now this news would not be troubling in of itself as most of the previous ones caused little to no trouble for the average members of the Gotei 13. Of course, therein lies the problem Ichigo..."

Sitting down upon a mat that had suddenly appeared at the floor beneath him, Urahara Kisuke gently smiled at his helper as he lifted the cup of tea and began to sip it. After drinking a good fraction of the warm beverage, a sigh escaped from the lips of the drinker as he turned his attention back to the young Shinigami as he asked, "Shall we continue? Now where was I..."

Pondering to himself for a few seconds, he snapped his fingers together as he continued, "Ah, well, it appears as though the last few that had landed have suddenly grown into such powerful monstrosities. The scariest part is that some of them have shown glimpses of potential and are still considered incomplete. With this steep rise in performance and demonstration to mimic a Shinigami, the conclusion that everyone came up with is that Aizen has come into contact with the mock Arrancars."

Allowing the information to brew inside of Ichigo's mind, Kisuke used the opportunity to take a few more sips of the cooled tea. Blinking a few times, he then slightly tipped his bucket hat to the side, "By using the Hougyoku, it has been predicted that Aizen would only need a few test subjects to keep testing his craft while observing the results. After that, he will probably have perfected a prototype that can help him create an army of completed forms of Arrancars. Using them, he will probably take over Menos Grande, and then probably emerge from the darkness to destroy our world."

To the listener, he managed to absorb every single sentence and word that came flowing at his direction. Placing his left hand over his face, he began to digest and process the information for himself now. The assessment seemed almost reasonable to him, but he didn't like the end result. What was Aizen's true goal? Was it really to destroy the world? Why would the man go through so much trouble and all of the painstaking experiments to create a complete Arrancar only to eradicate earth? One of the formulas didn't make sense to him, however, he kept this to himself as he instead looked back at the Urahara shop owner.

"So, what's the promise?"

"Ah yes, I almost forgot," Urahara Kisuke replied as he smacked his lips together a few times before adding, "Well, seeing as how you've just recovered from your long nap, I would like for you to stay put and not interfere with the ongoing operation for a while. Also..."

"There's an also here as well?" Ichigo asked as he groaned at the implication of the long two-part promise.

"There have been reports of people mysteriously vanishing and never being seen again. Now, this wouldn't be alarming if it wasn't for the fact that those same people reappear a few weeks in one of two ways. The first one is the more common sight where they are found in the middle of some road on the brink of exhaustion; malnourished and deprived of sleep with most of their belongings and valuables missing. The second way is that they come back only in the eyes and senses of the Shinigami."

The orange-haired teenager stood at attention at this surprising tidbit. Missing humans returning as hollows, and if he remembered properly, people only became hollows if they were spirits that was somehow chained to the earth. All of them were rooted down in some manner and were unable to release themselves from their own binds to which helped twist them into the creatures that the Shinigami's hunted.

"You didn't let me finish. Now, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by your train of thought was that these people do indeed return as hollow, but the circumstances and conditions that they do is quite frightening. For one, it's on the same week that they reappear as these creatures, but that isn't the alarming part. You see, when they do come back, they retain a good portion of their human features but have hollow sections stemming from all over their body. Not only that, but they also tend to have most of their original personality, memories, and intangibles still hanging onto them."

There was a few minutes of awkward silence dangling between them as Ichigo felt the atmosphere become dreary and somber. He knew that the implication behind the information was heavy and that there was more to it than the Urahara shop keep was exposing. Still, having this much amount being volunteered to him under a calm situation allowed him the chance to digest and play around with what he was told. The gathering and sorting of the material that was given to him was cut short when he noticed the odd, ex-captain lean toward his face.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, I've got something to ask you about," he said in a matter-of-fact type of tone. "Most of your friends don't know this but you do know how you were initially found, right?"

Opening a small, portable motion-controlled fan, the speaker put it in front of his face, effectively covering his mouth as he lightly brushed at it. Having somewhat of a curious expression donned upon the man's face, Ichigo gulped down his own saliva as he was caught unprepared by this question. How should he explain to the man that kept pounding the word 'resolve' into his system? Could he really tell him how weak he really felt and the emotions that were splitting his very soul at that time? Plus, he didn't want to reveal the grueling and brutal training regiment that he had gone through with Ogihci. There were too many factors involved in the answer so the best thing he could come up with on the spot was,

"I-I...yeah I know..." he managed to somehow stammer out as he sat down and quieted his movements. "I just didn't...I mean there wasn't..."

It was clear to the both of them that the answer itself would be too embarrassing for Ichigo to ever admit, especially in front of this man. Sensing the troublesome air that was going to be dictated again, Kisuke voided the question and changed subjects right away.

"Ah! Kurosaki-kun~ It sounds like you have qui~te a stomach ache and I'm not surprised since it has been a while since you go up."

At first the aforementioned person had no clue as to what was being talked about here as he stared back at the Urahara shop owner with a confused look. Nothing was clarified as he saw Tessai approach the bucket hat wearer and whisper something into his ears before rapidly retreating into the shadows. Still unsure of the on goings, Ichigo simply rolled off to the side as he got to his knees while shaking his head. It took all of two minutes for the burly-figured worker to come flying back to the scene as he wrapped his muscular arms tightly around the orange-haired teenager.

"What the hell? Hey-"

Ichigo never got to finish the sentence, which would've undoubtedly been laced with acidic barbs and not-so profound subjects. Finding himself quickly deterred once again, but this time by the act of another human being, the Shinigami representative knew that in his current condition he had no chance of fighting back. What would this be, an interrogation? An investigation? Perhaps even some form of twisted and unknown torture was going to come his way.

"Owner has informed me that you were feeling ill, so I have brought over some _excellent _medicine that should help you with your stomach ache."

This made Ichigo pause in his useless attempt at the struggle as he heard the explanation come from Tessai's mouth. Stomach illness? Well, it was mentioned sometime previously but he didn't expect it much, if anything from the comment. Now he wished he paid attention as most of his body was tied with sturdy rope while he was plopped sitting down on the floor. Bringing a small wooden table over to where the orange-haired teenager was located, the burly worker gently placed an unopened bottle on top of the furniture. Squinting his eyes, the young male quickly looked over at the contents before his jaws dropped as he screamed,

"Hell no! I'm not taking this! This thing expired almost three years ago!"

"Not to worry, the flavor is bearable and the side effects should be gone by tomorrow."

"No! That isn't the problem here! Are you trying to give me actual stomach pains?"

Ichigo could've sworn that all the while during the argument, he could see a small, evil grin appear at the corner of Kisuke's lips. It wasn't noticeable as most of his face was still covered by the fan, but he could somehow sense that the man was enjoying the pain and suffering that he was going through. Somehow managing to stand upon his feet, the orange-haired teenager angrily yelled,

"I'm not sick! I'll be alright! Leave me alone!"

The response given to him was swift, "Young people do not know how to take care of themselves. Always saying that they feel great, hiding their own pain..."

The ensuing chase lasted for a good period of time with the bound Ichigo eventually being captured and forcefully fed the outdated medicine. After the fiasco was over with, the orange-haired teenager was left groaning as his body was involuntarily trembling while his digestive system was growling. It wasn't exactly the sign of sure health but the shop owner's helper simply fixed his glasses as he commented,

"It looks like it's working."

Finally when the dust settled down, Urahara walked into the room where Ichigo was grumbling as he looked at everything beside the main subject. The Shinigami representative raised his head as he shot death glares at the bucket-cap wearer. Easily shrugging it off, Kisuke yawned as he scratched the back of his head as he asked in a half jest-like manner, "Feeling better now are we Kurosaki-kun?"

Letting out a sigh of defeat, the orange-haired teenager leaned his back against the walls of the store as he closed his eyes, allowing the events that had transpired run through his mind. It wasn't much, but with his physical body having been in suspended animation, exerting even that much amount of force and energy was too much of a strain and burden for him at the moment. Was this the limitation that the humanoid hollow was eluding to? It was true that he felt heavily restricted from the laws of physics and gravity that he had to obey from his world. Comparing this place to that of the mindscape; the 'freedom' that he was accustomed to having was completely gone, almost as though there were invisible rules that he was forced to follow.

It took Ichigo a few minutes to register the feeling, but when he finally did, he noticed that Kisuke was tapping his forehead with the end of his cane. Swiping it away, the young male scuffed at the flippant nature that was still being displayed. He wondered when Urahara would become serious with him again when, as if on cue, he felt something hit him on the side of his face.

Quickly whipping his head towards the direction of the strike, the teenager saw that it was his weapon. Reaching out for the sword, Ichigo gripped it by the edge of the hilt as he raised it to his face. True to word, his zanpakutou was shaped different from what he remembered and it was also wrapped back in the white-cloth tang. As though he was reading the Shinigami representative's mind, Kisuke went over as he said in a amused tone,

"Ahhhh, Kurosaki-kun~ I'm sure you've noticed by now but your sword doesn't appear to be a sword!"

Letting out a somewhat exaggerated and mischievous gasp, the Urahara shop-owner grinned as he brought his cane over to the wrapped weapon and tapped it a few times. Afterward, the odd shop-keeper tilted his head as he first looked curiously at the aforementioned sword, then at Ichigo as he opened and then closed his mouth. The orange-haired teenager noticed this not-so subtle motion as he let out a sigh before shaking his head as he decided to make a necessary comment to satisfy the guy's curious mind.

"I don't know," Ichigo said as he shrugged his shoulder as he gave a yawn and continued to trace his finger alongside the cloth wrap. Half of the information was true but he was obviously withholding some of the more exigent tidbits to himself. The authentic part was of how he was baffled by the sudden transformation of the weapon. It appeared as though that particular reaction that Ichigo gave was enough of a reasonable response for his caretaker as the teenager was not suspected beyond the initial interrogation period of the examination. Whether this was due to the belief that his dull and inane answer was correspondent toward his mental capacity, or lack thereof, or if there was a deeper motivation in doing so, the orange haired Shinigami was not prodded any further.

Drawing a grin upon his face, the questioner tilted his bucket hat forward, effectively shielding his eyes from public view as he raised the wooden staff before poking Ichigo with the stick. Shaking his head, Urahara let out a loud, exasperated sigh, "Uah Kurosaki-kun! It seems like your coma was actually a good thing for you. I don't know if you know this or not but it seems like you have somehow unconsciously subdued your reiatsu, all while lowering its presence to that of it becoming close to non-existent~"

The orange haired teenager usually hated it when the former Shinigami captain spoke in his whimsical tone as he unable to differentiate between him being sarcastic and being sincere. However, what surprised him was not the theory that the shop owner came up with, but rather the latter part of the exposition. As far as he was concerned, Ichigo was aware of the fact that before his 'bad decision' he would be unconsciously leaking his aura all over the place. And no matter how hard he tried, he would be unable to contain or even lower it to any degree. So it was only natural that this was news to him as he didn't realize that his instructor would be limited his own spiritual powers as well.

Ichigo could not accumulate and process the information in an orderly and neat fashion within his mind as the current thread was snapped by an unforeseen event that had transpired from his surrounding. To be exact, a thick brown bag was tossed toward his direction as Urahara's voice plainly cut into his skull, "I think it's about time you went home...your family must be worried sick over your well-being and health."

Pausing for unnecessary dramatic effect, the owner of the store almost unceremoniously stared off at an angle as though he was looking at a peering camera. He then turned his attention back to the recipient as he explained, "The bag contains some of things that I found you with at the place of your comatose body: school uniform, medicine, soiled underwear..." As the list continued with some of the materials sounding exaggerated and ridiculous, it was clear to Ichigo that almost everything inside were gag items for the sole purpose of comic relief. Just as he was about to shrug him off and ignore the simple ramblings of the ex-captain his ears picked up on something that made his brain come to a screeching halt.

"...and your cracked emblem."

"Wait, what?"

Opening the dark-colored knapsack, the Shinigami representative frantically shoveled through all the useless garbage before coming across the aforementioned object. Bringing it to light, Ichigo confirmed that Urahara was indeed telling the truth. Thus, upon closer examination, he found that there was no need for immediate panic, but rather a time of intrigue and curiosity. Although the marking of the crack ran diagonally across the front plate, the foundation itself was still solid and stable enough to hold the piece together in its entirety.

Rather than delaying and overstaying his welcome at the disguised shabby candy store, the teenager dumped the content back in its original position before heaving the bag over his shoulder. Grunting lowly, Ichigo slowly got up to his feet when he felt the entire world suddenly shift and rotate around him, using his body at the point of pivotal axis. Groaning, the young man collapsed to the floor as he could not maintain a steady level of balance. Blinking a few times, he placed his right hand upon a corner of his head as he shook himself clear and attempted to try again.

"Need a hand Kurosaki-san?"

* * *

Shuffling his feet at the door, the orange-haired teen removed his shoes as he mumbled in a slight inaudible voice, "I'm home."

On the walk over from his last destination, he had prepared himself for the inevitable questioning that he would receive from those of his familial roots, or more specifically – his father. Ichigo knew that he would only be given a few minutes from his entrance from the front door to the hallway connecting the kitchen and living room for him to be mercilessly attacked by his old man. Mentally bracing himself, he began the countdown from within his head.

"_Five...four...three...two...one..."_

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"_Here comes dumb and dumber, part 1," _Ichigo thought to himself as he swiftly predicted his father's movements and agile dodged it with a simple shift from his neck. At least that was the plan that he had concocted during the short travel, however, his body was unable to physically match the mental side of his brain as he was awkwardly hit along his backside. Drastically crumpling to the floor, the orange haired teenager was laying down on his face for some time as the elder Kurosaki was babbling in an inane manner.

"You stupid son, where were you the entire time?" Having tears streamlining down his eyes, the patriarch of the household crunched his hands into his fist as he looked up at the ceiling. "Do you know how worried we were? Your sister over there..."

Whether it was on purpose or not, Isshin had pointed to the darker-haired girl of the two sisters, Karin, which in turn had resulted in a vicious kick hitting him across the face, sending him flying across the room. All of this was done in a masterful series of moves which would make any martial artist raise their eyebrow and ask if she were a protege of some sort. Though, in this household, as this was part of the norm, the only response that was elicited from anyone was the daughter, who merely muttered, "Idiot..."

On the other side, the calmer and more emotionally vested of the two sister, Yuzu, smiled as she scurried over to her older brother, giving him a big hug. Nuzzling him softly with her face, she then let out a big sigh as a sniffle came from her mouth before crying out loud,

"Onii-san, you idiot! W-w-we...we were so worried and...and..."

In between the hysterical blathering of both Isshin and Yuzu, the irritated Karin rolled her eyes as her words managed to cut through both of them.

"Your friends came by, they told us everything...welcome back Ichi-nii, your beds all made up and school should start tomorrow."

"Thanks," Ichigo managed to grunt out as he shoved and kicked away his crying father away from his legs as he finally trotted up the stairs to his room. Closing the door behind him, the protagonist took a deep breath as he knew that there was no rest for the weary. Leaning against the wall, he dully thought to himself that the second part of dumb and dumber was about to start. Rubbing the bordering side of his eyes, the young teenager braced himself for the incoming missile.

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

This would not be a repeat of the previous session as he had two factors going for him this time. The first was that his body wasn't as unresponsive as when his father had attacked him with the high flying kick. Then there would be the case of this able body being only a quarter of the elder Kurosaki's height with hardly any weight or power behind it.

Grabbing the speeding bullet-like doll, Kon, in the midst of the assault, Ichigo simply slammed him down to the ground as he stepped down upon him. Hearing a loud of muffling and grumbling coming from the floor, the orange haired teen responded back, "I'm glad to see you too Kon."

Walking over to his bed, Ichigo plopped down onto the futon as he found his body sinking into the furniture. Even though the events that had transpired were asinine and inane, his body was strangely worn down physically. Turning around and facing the ceiling, there were many random thoughts that ran through his head, but on the same token there were none. The teenager's mind was at a blank as his sole concentration appeared to be at the single molecular cell that comprised the dot at the center. He knew that even though there were thing to review, he allowed himself an ounce of reprieve from the exhausting day.

Closing his eyes, the ex-shinigami attempted to communicate with his temporary resident and part-time mentor.

No response.

Just as he was about to poke the parasite inside of his body again, he felt a jolt surge through his body. Ichigo instinctively knew that even without confirmation a hollow was outside trying to cause havoc within the neighborhood. However, contrary to his past actions, he did not immediately spring into gear and jump out of the window, but instead chose to shrug it off as though it was a nuisance. The orange haired-teen was easily able to judge from the presence of the reiatsu, or lack thereof, that it would be labeled a waste of time to go and solve the minor problem. Figuring that either the Quincy or some other Shinigami would eradicate the being for him, Ichigo found his consciousness wandering aloft before having darkness consume him.

* * *

"So Urahara, how was he?"

"Unsurprisingly healthy."

It was an odd meeting two of the most unlikely people, Urahara Kisuke of the Urahara 'candy shop', and Kurosaki Isshin, proud but embarrassing father of the Kurosaki household. Of course, considering the disastrous occurrence that had befallen Ichigo and the fatal harm that he almost inflicted upon himself, it really wouldn't be regarded odd or unlikely. Taking a shot of the alcohol, the two men stared off into the starry night as they allowed the cool breeze to fill the empty void. After another round, Isshin decided to break the silence.

"Ichigo's asleep right now, that medicine that you gave him is working quite well."

"Mmm hmm."

"So tell me, how much did you tell him, and just what does he know?"

Adjusting his green-and-white bucket hat, Urahara answered, "I told him just enough information as a fair warning to him, but, knowing the type of person that he is...well, it probably hasn't sunk in just yet. He'll understand once the situation arises and he is forced to face it."

Silence was once again the reigning speaker as it dictated the path of the atmosphere and conversation. It appeared as though none of the two would interrupt the stranglehold that it had until a small cough from an unknown direction decidedly put an end to it all. Taking out a carton of cigerattes, the elder Kurosaki popped one of the white, cylindrical sticks into his mouth. As he proceeded to take out a lighter, he carelessly offered one to his drinking partner by throwing the pack at him.

"Ah~ I haven't had one of these for a very long time. I think I quit because it was effecting my..."

Before he had time to go on his silly ramblings and rants, Isshin snorted out loud as he told him, "Earthly things like this has as much of an effect on us as does every other materialistic thing. So shut-up and join me."

Not tossing back a rebuttal, the shop owner simply smiled as he tilted the hat towards his eyes before lighting up his own cancerous stick.

"How much time do we have?"

"Who knows?"

A few puffs between the two people that were conversing.

"So it really is up to him in the end, huh?"

...yeah, and hopefully he'll understand the situation once it comes down to it and comes around to his senses about what he has to do."

"It's only a matter of time..."

* * *

Somewhere within the unknown confines of the vast space within the mindscape...

"**So, how is the progress on your end?"**

"**Currently everything is according to plan and it is going just as foretold."**

"**What about you Ogihci? Last you reported, some abnormalities at your side."**

The humanoid hollow smirked as he gave a nonchalant shrug before answering, **"I had to do a lot of damage control at first. Hell, to prevent the suicide I had to actually merge parts of myself into his system."**

Blinking a few times, he then yawned before continuing, "**As reported, he surprisingly came to me and that pretty much put a wrench in everything."**

"**Judging by your presence at this juncture, we presume that things have been smoothed out?"**

Spitting on the floor, the ex-Shinigami's mentor responded, **"Not quite, that Ichigo...just one misstep and he might want to kill himself, and well, that's because of how much he sucks!" Well, aside from that, keep going with the plan."**

As he hopped away, the group he was conversing with muttered from the distance,

"**It's only a matter of time..."**

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm really in need of a beta reader here...email me or PM me if you are interested in becoming one for me. More information about this spot will be told over conversation


End file.
